Toothbrushes are used by people every day to clean their teeth by removing food remnants and dental plaque sticking on to the teeth. Dental plaque contains many bacteria that cause diseases of teeth and gums like dental caries, gingivitis, periodontitis etc. When plaque is not removed from the surfaces of teeth it turns into calculus also known as tartar. Calculus cannot be removed by normal brushing as it is hard and sticks to the teeth firmly. Progression of dental diseases may lead to loss of teeth over a period of time if not treated by a dentist. Unhealthy teeth and gums have adverse effects on the general health also.
Even though many varieties of toothbrushes are available in the markets, mainly two types of brushes are available, manual and motorised. Manual toothbrushes have rows of bristles placed on the brush head that is attached to a handle. FIG. 1 shows a manual toothbrush. Motorised toothbrushes have bristles mounted on a head in a circular arrangement. The head is attached to a handle that contains the motor for moving the head. The head rotates or oscillates in a semi-circle when started. FIG. 2 shows a motorised toothbrush.
A person brushing teeth is not able to see clearly the food and plaque deposits on the rear side of the front teeth and on the teeth that are in the back side of the mouth. So it is not possible for the person to determine whether the brushing is effective in cleaning the teeth thoroughly.
A person is not able to see if there is dental caries in the back teeth or swelling in the gums around the back teeth. Only a dentist would be able to tell the person during a regular dental check up if there is any dental disease present in the mouth.
These problems presented due to inability to see the teeth clearly in the mouth are overcome by a toothbrush with an imaging device being camera. So far no attempts have been made to develop such a toothbrush.